Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Current Events Final

1. The Labay family wants to destroy a historical house, but the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association doesn't want them to. I think the Labay family has the stronger case. The compromise is subdividing the plot to keep the home but have development on the other side, too. I think its only good for the OWANA because the Labay family would probably still have much of their financial problems.

2. They are competing together for the contract to operate a nuclear weapons lab along with the University of Mexico. the Boeing Co. and the Battelle Memorial Institute. It would allow the universities to be involved with the nuclear weapons lab. I think the proposal is a good idea because it gives them a better chance of winning. I think it is OK for universities to be partners because it is good for them to work together sometimes.

3. Cosby's trial was allowed to move forward. Whenever a judge says there is enough evidence, then I trust them. The former district attorney promised to never prosecute Crosby as a way to get him to testify in a civil suit. No. It says the former district attorney not the present one promised that. I think it should be on the front page because Bill Cosby is very well known.

4. The new name will be Russell Lee elementary. Both Robert and Russell have the same last name and they chose Russell because the school already went by Lee. Another possible name, Bettie Mann, was given to the kindergarten hall. Only one person disagreeing made it a little awkward. I like it because it is basically the same name, only without the confederate part.

5. Ken Starr, the president, could be fired. The school had multiple sexual assault scandals against its football program. I think Art Briles should be fired because he is the person who has the responsibility for this along with the football players.

Monday, May 9, 2016

Journalism piece

It's been a little over a month since University of Texas freshman Haruka Weiser was murdered on the UT campus. And although McCallum seniors are looking forward to graduation and the next stage in their lives, it is hard for some, especially those going to UT, to forget the tragic event.

Murders happen, but this one seemed to really hurt. One reason is that murders just aren't common in Austin. The last murder on the UT campus takes you all the way back to 1966 when Charles Whitman killed 14 people from the UT tower. "It affected my sense of security," said senior Elisabetta Diorio," because we take safety for granted a little bit because Austin definitely does feel very safe and unobtrusive and so that incident, I think, sort of shook everyone up, and made me kind of appreciate the safety that I have a little bit more."

The murder drew different reactions from different people. Some think the murder was tragic but is a part of life, while others were shocked by the proximity of the crime. For senior Caitlin Williamson, who is planning to go to Austin Community College before going to UT, the murder was just an unfortunate event. "I wasn't terribly surprised," Williamson said. "It happens so often, not here, but just around the country.

Although Williamson isn't scared about going to UT, others are worried for their safety. One of which is senior Hannah Cooley, who will be attending the university next year. "It was definitely scary to hear about (the murder) knowing that I'll be there next year and being of the same variety," Cooley said. "She was a young girl and walking around on campus is a scary thing when you're alone. ... It was definitely scary and kind of a reality check about how safe you actually have to be if you're going to be walking around campus alone."

Walking around campus alone is something Cooley won't be doing along with taking other safety precautions to ensure her safety on campus.

"My mom told be never to walk with headphones in because you can't hear what is going on around you. Walking in groups, I plan to not walk alone at least mainly at night, just paying attention to my surroundings."

Despite the different reactions people had, the murder was a reality check that every city and every school is going to have a problem ever once in a while. Like Caitlin Williamson said, "It just happens."

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Newspaper Design Terms

Dominance- one thing grabs attention and is twice the size of anything else.
Contrast- has gray black and white.
Balance- placement of design elements in balance and doesn't lean.
Unity- same design throughout the page.
Rhythm- the pages have similar styles.
Even legs of the text- the columns of text are even
Story on top- when the story is on top.
L shaped text flow- the text is in an l shape.
U shaped text flow- when the text is in a u shape.
Photo on left- photo is on the left
Photo on right- photo is on the right
COB photo- cut out backround photo
COMBO plate-
Teaser- brief pieces of info that get a reader to read something on the inside pages
Flag- a display showing what section the page is in
Folios- a section at the top of the page that says basic info like the newspaper or the date
Bylines- the writers name
Jumps- when a story jumps from one page to another
Story dividers- lines dividing the columns of stories
Screens-
Infographics- a representation of info as a graphic
Mastheads- the newspaper name at the top
Bastard measure- a change in the design of a page
Raw wrap- text that extends into a column alongside the headline
Reefer- a line referring to a different story elsewhere
Wild art- a feature shot
Pull Quote- a quote that is pulled out of a story and written in big letters
Ears- a box in the upper corner of the page with a notice
Banner- a logo at the top of the front page
Kicker headline- smaller head above main headline
Wicket headline- two or more lines of secondary headline
Tripod headline- a primary headline of two Lines on the left next to a secondary headline
Hammer headline- type line is big and main line is smaller
Modular design- everything is built in a block grid pattern
Text wrap- text wrapped around a graphic